A Few Drinks Too Many
by ItalianPrincess92
Summary: "Flora, what's wrong? Please, tell me. Oh, God..."
1. Unwelcome Invitation

**A/N: Hello, everyone! New fanfic time!**

**I do not own any Professor Layton characters.**

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><p>Flora Reinhold struggled to stay awake as her teacher droned on about infinitesimal calculus. Her once comprehensive and organized notes had turned into illegible scribbles and doodles of smiley faces, cats, (her favorite animal,) and tiny hearts with the initials LT inside them.<p>

Two rows down and one row over sat her best mate and boyfriend, Luke Triton. In fact, today was their anniversary.

364 days ago, they'd gone on their first date, and the following afternoon, her status on Facebook changed from 'single' to 'in a relationship'.

Some people would think that they were moving quite quickly, but she disagreed. Flora had known Luke since they were ten, and it was no secret that there was something special between from the beginning.

Luke turned slightly in his chair, trying not to draw attention to himself. His sapphire eyes locked with her mossy ones and he smiled.

_I love you,_ he mouthed.

Flora responded by putting her index fingers and thumbs together, forming a heart.

Suddenly, her purse vibrated.

Luke must have heard it, because his eyes widened, and he moved his focus back to the front of the room.

Being as stealthy as she could she grabbed it from under her desk and fished out her cell phone.

She flipped it open and was immediately surprised to see that the text message was from Rose Paxton.

Rose was undoubtedly the most popular girl at South Bexley Academy. She had flowing auburn hair and eyes that resembled pools of milk chocolate. Everyone wanted to be her friend, and if you were lucky enough to breathe the same air as she did, you were officially considered "cool." That being said, what did she want with Flora?

_Hey, Flora!_

_Haven't talked in a while! How RU?_

_Party 2nite at my place. U wanna come?_

_U can bring Luke if u like? ;-)_

_27 Westbrook Lane- 8 pm_

_-Rose_

Flora pursed her lips.

She knew that the only reason that Rose asked her to the party was the hope that she would bring Luke.

Being keen on athletes, Rose had kept her eye on him ever since he had been appointed captain of Bexley's soccer team.

Flora quickly texted back.

_Thanks! I'll let u know._

She then dropped her phone back into her bag with no intention of doing so.

Two minutes later the bell rang, and the kids swarmed out the room like angry bees, eager to escape from Mr.

Garrott's babbling.

In the hallway, Flora waited for Luke to join her at her locker.

She heard footsteps and felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Guess who?" Luke said.

Flora giggled.

"Close your eyes," he instructed.

More footsteps.

"Okay...open."

Her eyelids fluttered.

Luke was standing in front of her, a rose in one hand and a silver box in the other.

He handed her the flower and kissed her softly.

"Happy anniversary, sweetheart," he whispered.

Luke then gave her the box.

Flora untied the sparkly ribbon and removed the lid. She gasped.

"Oh, Luke..."

She sounded like she was going to cry.

A gleaming, gold heart shaped locket lay nestled comfortably inside.

Luke lifted it from the container and fastened it around her neck.

"Do you like it?"

Flora ran her finger over the glassy surface.

"It's perfect."

-o-

Two hours later, lunchtime had arrived, and as usual, Luke and Flora sat next to each other. Their two friends, Elizabeth and Sean, who were also a couple, sat with them.

Elizabeth was busy gushing about Flora's anniversary present when a silky voice interrupted her.

"Good afternoon, everyone."

Flora couldn't figure out who it was until she turned and caught a glimpse of copper curls. Rose.

She sunk a little lower in her chair.

Rose took the spot next to Sean, who seemed mesmerized by her bouncy hair and fruity perfume.

Elizabeth elbowed him in the side, knocking him out of his trance.

"Ouch!" he hissed, rubbing the sore spot.

Rose, however, didn't seem to notice.

She folded her arms in front of her on the table.

"So, Flora, did you think about it? Did you ask Luke?"

Luke looked puzzled.

"Ask me what?"

"Rose is having a party later, and she invited us," Flora said curtly, hoping Luke would get the message.

"What kind of party?" asked Luke.

Rose waved her hand nonchalantly.

"Just a small one. A little thing before the summer holidays."

Elizabeth squirmed a bit in her seat.

Rose shifted her eyes across the table.

"You both can come, too, if you want."

Elizabeth gave a weak smile.

"We can't. It's my dad's birthday. We're all going out to dinner."

"Hmm. Too bad," Rose sniffed.

She turned back to Luke and Flora, eyebrows raised.

"Well...? What do you say? You interested?" She flashed a bright grin in Luke's direction.

Flora nudged Luke's ribs, trying discreetly to shake her head no.

"Um... we'll think about it," he answered, pretending not to notice Flora's searing glare.

Rose patted Luke's hand.

"Fair enough. I hope to see you there."

She then flounced away, and Luke knew that he was in big trouble.

-o-

"'We'll think about it'? 'We'll think about it'?"

Flora sat in the passenger's seat of Luke's car, fuming.

She would have rather walked home, except that a surprise thunderstorm at the end of the schoolday had halted those plans.

"Would you relax, please?" Luke said

"No."

"I didn't say yes, you know," he pointed out.

"You didn't say no, either," she said bitterly.

"You're being unreasonable," he said under his breath.

Flora shot up straight.

"I'm being unreasonable? _I'm being unreasonable?"_

Flora had a tendency to repeat herself when she was angry.

"It's our anniversary and you want to go to a party!"

"Not by myself! I want you there with me."

Flora slumped back against the seat.

"Why don't you want to go? It might be fun."

She scoffed.

"Did you even see the way she looked at you?" she said.

"What? Who?"

"'Who?'. Rose!"

"What are you talking about?"

"The only reason that she invited me is to get to you."

"Wait a minute..."

Luke slowed to a stop at a traffic light.

"Flora... are you... jealous or something?"

She didn't answer and kept her eyes trained on the rain streaking down her window.

The light turned green, and Luke resumed driving.

"Flora, look at me," he said firmly.

She crossed her arms.

"I bet that if I wasn't there, she would have been all over you. She's been wanting to be with you since you became captain of the football team!"

"I'm not interested in her, though! I'm interested in you!"

Suddenly, he swerved to the right, and pulled over on the side of the road, muttering about getting into an accident.

He ran his fingers through his hair.

"God, Flora. I cannot believe that we are arguing about something so ridiculous, especially today. Is that the reason you don't want to go? Honestly. Do you not trust me?"

Those last five words hit her like a ton of bricks and Flora felt a twinge of guilt in her stomach. She sniffled.

Luke sighed.

He reached for her wrist, but she jerked her arm away.

"Flora... come on. Please?"

For a few minutes, she wouldn't move, but finally resigned and scooted next to him.

He put his arm around her, allowing her to lean on his chest.

She could feel his heartbeat in her ear, and soon, the steady, drum-like rhythm began to soothe her.

I'm sorry," she murmured. "For being stupid and irrational."

Luke kissed her forehead. "You're not stupid. Maybe a tad irrational, though."

Flora gave his stomach a playful smack.

"I'm kidding," he laughed. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. _"Je t'aime, ma chaton."_

_"Moi aussi, je t'aime,"_ she replied.

Outside, the rain continued to fall in droves. Passing cars splashed through puddles of muddy water and the occasional lightning bolt lit up the sky, illuminating the city.

"So, what do you think you want to do later? Do you want to go out to dinner or stay in and watch a film?" Luke asked, twirling Flora's hair with his finger.

"Hmm...I'm not sure," she answered slowly. Her lips curled up into a small smile. "I'll think about it."

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you all liked it! Please R&R!**

**If my French is wrong in any way, please feel free to correct me. I just Googled it.**


	2. Rumor Has It

**A/N: Second chapter!**

**I do not own any Professor Layton characters. **

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><p>Flora was not the kind of person who would ever try to intentionally hurt someone.<p>

She was also not the kind of person who stood by while someone tried to take something that was hers.

Flora gazed at her reflection in her vanity mirror.

For the past hour since she'd been home, she had been replaying the events in the cafeteria over and over.

Truth be told, it bothered her that she was so consumed by something so paltry, but she couldn't help it.

Frustrated, she kicked the leg of the vanity table.

She couldn't stand Rose.

Who did she think she was, anyway?

Out of the eleven players on the soccer team, eight of them were single, so why did she want Luke?

Flora quickly reread Rose's text.

_27 Westbrook Lane._

_Figures, _she thought.

Westbrook was a gated community, which led Flora to a rather simple conclusion.

Rose was quite wealthy, and probably used to getting anything she ever wanted, including boys that were off-limits.

_Well, not this time. _

Flora straightened up in her chair.

Rose had most likely already crossed her name off the guest list, but it didn't matter.

Her mind was made up.

She was going to that party.

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><p><strong>AN: Hi! I hoped you all liked it! Please R&R! I am sorry it's so short! **


	3. Action

**A/N: Third chapter!**

**I do not own any Professor Layton characters.**

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><p><em>Hi, Dad. It's me. I just called to see how you're doing. Miss you. I hope you and your class are having fun in Durham. Um, I also wanted to let you know that Luke and I are going to a party later at, um, a...friend's house. Her name is Rose. It's just a little get-together before the end of school. Nothing big. Alright, I got to go. I'll talk to you soon. I love you. Bye.<em>

_-o-_

Flora ran a brush through her chestnut hair while quickly dabbing her mouth with some shiny cherry lip gloss.

It was almost 7:30, and Luke was set to arrive any moment to pick her up.

Flora hadn't exactly let him on about her plans, only telling him to dress nicely.

Outside, a honk split the silence of the empty house.

With a final spritz of perfume, Flora took her purse from the bureau and left her room.

Unbeknownst to her, this seemingly innocent party would ultimately prove to be life-changing.

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><p><strong>AN: Hi! I hoped you all liked it! Please R&R! **

**I hope you all had a nice Halloween!**

**Did anyone dress up? I did. Haha.**

**Can you guess what**** I was?**

**I was Clive. Yes, Clive. Our favorite British mastermind.**


	4. Miss Secretive

**A/N: Fourth chapter!**

**I do not ****own any Professor Layton characters.**

**I also would like to thank everyone for all of your kind reviews. It really means a lot to me!**

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><p>Flora was a bit nervous.<p>

What would Luke say when he knew where she wanted to go?

She opened the side door to his car and got in.

"Hi, sweetheart," she smiled.

She fastened her seat belt.

"Hello. You look beautiful," he said.

She smiled.

"Thank you. You look quite lovely yourself," she replied, noting his navy pinstriped shirt and khaki pants.

Luke dusted some lint off the tan fabric.

"Well, you did tell me to dress nicely. Where are we going? I mean, aren't we a tad overdressed for Singh's?"

"Yes, but that's not where we're going," she answered.

"Where then?"

Flora didn't look at him.

Luke eyed her suspiciously.

"Okay, Miss Secretive. What's going on?"

Flora tugged at her silky peach blouse.

"Nothing. I just thought that we should go somewhere else."

"Like...?" He pressed.

Luke then noticed something clutched in Flora's hand.

"What's that?"

She gripped it tighter.

"Nothing," she said quickly.

"Let me see."

"No."

"Flora..."

"It's a map," she said.

"A map? To where?"

Flora unfolded the paper and smoothed it out before handing it to him.

"Westbrook," she said.

One of the printable maps from the Internet, a dark blue line connected Flora's house to the desired destination.

"Westbrook? Isn't that where all those rich people are? Why would you..." Luke's voice trailed off as a light went off in his head.

He set the paper down on the dashboard.

"Oh, my God. That's where Rose Paxton lives, isn't it?"

Flora, attempting to retain a facade of obliviousness, didn't answer.

Unfortunately for her, she had the worst poker face.

"It is!" Luke laughed.

"So what?" Flora said.

"'So?' You're kidding, right? I thought you didn't want to go?"

"I changed my mind. That's not against the law."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you change your mind?"

Flora swept her bangs away from her face.

The real reason or the fake reason?

"Um, well, I was just thinking, and I thought that maybe you were right. It might be fun."

He chuckled.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Right... I suppose we should be going then?"

"Yes."

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you all liked it! Please R&R!**


	5. Truth

**A/N: Fifth chapter!**

**I do not own any Professor Layton characters.**

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><p>"Flora, what's the <em>real <em>reason you want to go to this party?"

"I told you. I was thinking about what you said. It might be fun. We always do the same things. Either dinner or the cinema. This is something different," she insisted.

Luke drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

"You're lying to me. I know it," he said softly, keeping his eyes on the road.

"I'm not," she said.

"Yes, _you are_," he said a little more forcefully. "Come on, Flora. I've known you how long? I know when you're not telling me the truth. You hate Rose. Why all of a sudden do you want to go to her house?"

"I don't hate her," Flora whispered. That wasn't a lie. Flora didn't hate anyone. It was such an ugly word, in her opinion.

"Fine, but this excuse that you want to go 'just because' is bull, and you know it."

Flora sucked in a breath.

"You want to know? I feel...threatened."

"By Rose?"

She nodded. Her mouth trembled.

"Flora..."

Her defenses were breaking down and nerves coming undone.

"It's like, Rose has so much more to offer, and if I'm not careful, she's going to take you away from me."

Hot tears brimmed her eyes.

It was true that Flora didn't hate anyone, but she hated feeling this way. Vulnerable. Weak. Helpless.

"Flora, listen to me. What's that around your neck?"

The shiny metal felt cool against her skin.

"That's not just a piece of jewelry, or even just an anniversary present. It's my way of telling you that I love you. I always have, and I always will. You don't need to worry about other people. Okay? No one can break us apart."

"I know. I'm sorry."

He took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Don't be. When we're there, you just have fun."

Flora looked down at her lap, where the crinkly paper was placed.

"Turn left," she said.

She looked up.

"I think we're here."

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you all liked it! Please R&R! I am sorry for the short chapters! The next one will be longer.**


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